V. Page Fortna Is the New Director of Saltzman Institute

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V. Page Fortna, the Harold Brown Professor of US Foreign and Security Policy in Columbia’s Department of Political Science, was recently named to lead SIPA’s Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. A longtime member of the Saltzman Institute, Fortna assumed her duties as director on July 1.

At the Saltzman Insitute she replaces Peter Clement, who served as interim director in the 2022-23 academic year. In a statement announcing Fortna’s appointment, the Institute thanked Clement for his leadership during “one of the most ambitious and challenging years on record.” 

Fortna completed her PhD at Harvard in November 1998 and joined Columbia as an assistant professor in fall 1999. She has been a member of the political science faculty since then, and served as department chair from 2013 to 2016.

Her research focuses on the international politics of climate change; terrorism; the durability of peace in the aftermath of both civil and interstate wars; and war termination. It combines quantitative and qualitative methods, draws on diverse theoretical approaches, and focuses on policy-relevant questions.

An elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fortna has published extensively — including two books — and received numerous honors, grants, and fellowships.

She teaches courses on the international politics of climate change, war termination and the durability of peace, terrorism, cooperation and security, and research methods.

Department of Political Science: V. Page Fortna